Name Six
by CMCRD
Summary: Hermione issues a challenge to Snape that may change her view on him all together. COMPLETE! I'll return to Secrets now! Promise


_I know, I know, I'm supposed to be working on Secrets, but give me a break, I'm sick! I'm a couple chapters ahead of what I have posted, I'm just waiting for you people to review a bit more, as evil as that is. So I thought I'd take a break to write a bit of a fluffy fic, kinda. _

_It's bad, and I know that, but I'm on cough syrup and everything's fuzzy and colorful. I think that last dose was taken a bit too soon, cuz now the colors are swirling, and I never like kaleidoscopes._

_Here it is! _

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The end had come.

With one final curse, the soul of the Dark Lord had been put into a crystal, and the crystal smashed. He couldn't die, that much had been discovered long ago. But, if his soul was smashed into the crystal, which was a method used by the Death Eaters themselves, which forced a spirit into going into the Beyond without giving them the option of becoming a ghost.

Although many had died, Hogwarts' population had very little loss. The sixth years and below had been sent into safe houses. Only the seventh years had been permitted to fight.

Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, Snape and the aurors had all fought right behind Harry. But they couldn't help him with Voldemort. That was _his _destiny. All they could do was to keep all of the Death Eaters away, and let them battle it out.

It took nearly two hours of spell casting once they got up to Voldemort. Their wands constantly counteracted the other's spells, rendering many of their spells. It had taken a distraction from Hermione to give Harry the final advantage.

Hermione was well aware of how badly it could have turned.

They were all getting tired. Lucius and Bellatrix had long since been killed, and with Snape finally coming out and helping the Order in public, they had no intelligent Death Eaters left. All in attendance had been killed. All that was left was to kill the Dark Lord.

Hermione was extremely tired. She was almost asleep when some dust passed over her nose. The enviorment had been extremely quiet the entire time, except for the curses passing between the two. The sound of her sneeze had rung throughout the stone cave.

And made her fall on her butt.

Both Harry and Voldemort had looked, but Harry knew he had to stay focused, so he took a fraction of a second less then Voldemort did to look at the strange and slightly funny scene.

"Nozlamonta!" He cried. Voldemort didn't have time to raise his wand.

It was almost poetic justice, that he was distracted by a Mudblood long enough to be defeated.

After the battle, Harry came up to her, laughing.

"Only you could sneeze in front of Voldemort."

She blushed deeply and responded by lightly hitting him.

The next day, she received the letter telling her that her father had been killed that day. Devastated, she returned home.

Which is where she had been ever since. Two weeks had passed. She had received a letter a day from Harry and Ron. She had received six letters from Draco, and she had received three from Dumbledore. But she hadn't responded. She locked herself in her room with Crookshanks, Buddy (Her black cat) and Sammy (Her new hamster).

She had only come out for the funeral, which she had ran out of once she saw that Harry, Ron, Draco, Dumbledore and funny enough, Snape, had decided to attend.

They assumed she blamed them. But she blamed herself. She blamed the fact she had joined the magical world.

Exactly two weeks after she had arrived, there was a pounding on her door.

"Granger, for God's sakes, open this door!" the voice hissed.

She opened the door.

"Professor Snape?" She asked him.

"Who were you expecting, the Dark Lord?"

"Before I'd expect you." She told him before returning to her bed and flopping down on it. Then, she looked to him, silently telling him to explain himself.

"Trust me, I'd rather be the Dark Lord right now."

"Am I _that _horrible?"

"When you're stealing valuable potions ingredients, I'd have to say yes."

"So you did know about the Polyjuice Potion?"

"Of course, how else would you explain the exact ingredients needed missing, and then you end up being a cat?"

"Maybe I like being a cat."

"Doubtful, considering all of the hairballs you went through."

"I have a lot of hair Professor. Is there a reason you're here?"

"You mean besides trading oh-so-witty comments with my best potions student?"

"I'm not coming back, find yourself a new best student. Besides, you hate me."

"I never _hated _you, Ms. Granger. I just wasn't up to joining your already full fan club."

"You could have at least _once _let me know that my potion was right. You'd let the Slytherins know that they did well, but not us. Some nights, I'd lie awake wondering if I screwed the entire thing up."

"You have not screwed up a single potion your entire time at Hogwarts, Ms. Granger."

"Then why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"Do you know what the Dark Lord would have done if he found out I praised a M-Gryfindor?"

"You were going to say mudblood."

He flinched at the word.

"Yes. I was raised to those stereotypes."

"I hated you." She admitted.

"I know you did." He told her.

"But I respected you. I _had _to. How could I not? You were brilliant at potions. You were able to keep the attention of a class with a single word. You could have worn a chicken suit and _still _been terrifying. Although I think that in itself would be terrifying anyway." She said, visualizing her Potion's Professor in a chicken suit.

He caught her mental image and winced.

"Never think that again." He warned her.

"Gladly."

"The reason I'm here is because Dumbledore wants you to return to Hogwarts. You can't hide forever."

Hermione shook her head.

"It's _my _fault he's dead, Professor. If I hadn't joined the magical world…" she trailed off.

"He would have died anyway. Don't you see? It's because of you that Potter got to the stone in his first year. Otherwise, the Dark Lord would have risen even sooner, before Potter could fight him, and he would have won. Then all the muggles would have died, you and your mother included."

"H-how is my mother?" She asked him.

"I only spoke to her for a minute, but she seems as upset as yourself, but I think that may partially worry. How much have you eaten while you've been in here?"

She pointed to a tray of leftover food.

"I eat about once a day. Mom sends more, but…"

"You have to eat Hermione." He told her.

She shook her head.

"It's over, Professor. Now that the war is over, Harry and Ron can move on to the world their blood gave them too. The world they were born in. I wasn't born there. I was born here."

"So? You proved yourself to be as important as either one of them."

"To the war. No one wants me back."

Snape shook his head. "Then what are _those_?" he asked, pointing to the stack of letters

She dryly laughed. "They think they _owe _me. For sneezing. I didn't mean to, it just happened, and _that's _what I get credit for."

"They miss you."

"They feel indebted by me."

"They miss you." He repeated.

"Name six people." She challenged him hotly.

"Dumbledore, Potter, Weasley, Ms. Weasley, Molly, and myself."

She looked surprised.

"Y-you miss me?"

"Would I be here if I didn't?"

"Didn't Dumbledore send you?"

"No. He was going to send Weasley, but that boy doesn't know when to take his foot out of his mouth to breathe."

Hermione snorted at that. "True."

"Come back, Hermione." He asked, but his eyes were pleading with hers.

She nodded and stood shakily.

"C-can I say goodbye to Mum first?" She asked him.

He nodded and opened the door for her, then followed her out.

She ran up to her mother, her face wetted with tears.

"I-I'm sorry I was so-"

"Don't worry about it honey. I take it you're going back?"

Hermione nodded. "I-I could stay for a bit longer if you need me too."

"No… You go on. I need to go visit Harold's parents…. To say goodbye. I need sometime away from this house, from the memories. I need to rethink a lot of things we had decided on, and well, I just have to think."

Hermione gave her mother a sad smile.

"Write, okay? There should be owl post up there, and if not, you still have the Weasley's address, right?"

Her mother nodded.

"Send it to them, and they'll know what to do."

Then Hermione turned to Snape.

"I'm ready." She told him.

He held his arm out to her and she took it, and then waved to her mom.

A second later, they were at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds.

She reached up and brushed a quick kiss to his lips.

"Thanks for… everything."

He nodded, speechless for once.

She started walking, and once she was about ten feet ahead of him, she turned around and called, "Hey, Professor!"

He looked up and their eyes met.

"Race you back!" Without a second thought about his reputation or anything else of the sort, he raced after her.

_

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Reviews, along with cough syrup are the best medicines, so make me healthy again, okay? The sooner I'm healthy, the faster I return to Secrets._


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